First day in Cape Town

Saturday, July 20, 20:30

I love the ocean!

The sound of the pounding surf, the immense energy of the waves, and the patterns of water undulating, crashing, and splashing, all delight me.

I grew up near the ocean on Long Island, but I have never lived near the ocean since then. So every time I come back to an ocean, it’s not only thrilling, but it brings back happy memories of going to the beach as a kid.

So I’m beyond happy to be staying right across from the Sea View Promenade at Mouille Point in Cape Town. Once we got settled in at the Dolphin Inn Guest House, I went for a walk along the promenade and just enjoyed listening and watching the huge waves.

There was a bit of a mix-up with our room here. I had booked a room with two beds (or at least I thought I did). But when we checked in, we were in a room with just one bed. I got a hold of the manager, Karen, and she made arrangements for us to use two rooms for tonight, and after that, we’ll see. The room I thought I booked is vacant tonight and tomorrow night, but not after that. In fact, we’re the only guests here over the weekend.

Everything should get resolved tomorrow. It’s a charming place, and Karen is very warm and accommodating over the phone.

Sunday, July 21, 21:00

What makes you fall in love with a new city?

For me it’s the feeling that I can imagine myself living there.

Today in Cape Town I had the feeling that this is a city where I’d want to live.

We did the Hop On Hop Off bus tour today. Afterwards I asked Mary Ann what was the highlight for her. She thought long and hard and said maybe the beach (Camps Point). But then we got talking, and there were so many highlights. In fact, everywhere we stopped was a highlight!

We walked to the V&A Waterfront to start the tour. V&A is Victoria and Alfred (not Albert; Alfred was their second son. He visited Cape Town while serving in the Royal Navy and ordered construction of a new harbor for the colony.) On the way we stopped at the weekend market. 

This was a highlight of the day!

Signal Hill

Then we got to the bus and started with the shorter Red Line and rode through the city center and out to Signal Hill. The tour usually goes to Table Mountain, but the road and funicular are closed for maintenance. This was disappointing, except the view from Signal Hill is amazing. And it has the added bonus of including Table Mountain in the vistas, something you miss out on from the top of Table Mountain.

This was a highlight of the day!

Camps Bay

Our next “Hop Off” was at Camps Bay, a popular beach. It’s winter in Cape Town, chilly temps and all, so there were just a few Cape Towners enjoying Sunday at the beach.

This was a highlight of the day!

Back to the V&A Waterfront

Next we rode back to the starting point at the V&A Waterfront and took some time to explore the shops and general ambience there.

This was a highlight of the day!

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

Next we got on the longer Blue Route and rode to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, where we had about an hour and a half to wander. It was not nearly enough time. The birds were at least as impressive as the flora.

This was a highlight of the day!

Back to Mouille Point

The bus ride back to Mouille Point was a feast of interesting sights and beautiful views of the ocean and the mountains.

This was a highlight of the day!

Except it was so damn cold on the open-air bus! Mary Ann got smart and went to the enclosed lower level, but I stuck it out, took lots of photos, and didn’t get warm until halfway through dinner.

Dinner

Dinner was at Karibu, at the V&A Waterfront. Our waiter knew exactly what we’d come in for. Apparently, many visitors come to Karibu for a meal like we had.

Our meal was accompanied by excellent wines, and it all came to about $50 USD apiece.

This was the final highlight of the day!

Do I really want to move here? Honestly, based on today, I could. But this is winter. Cape Town is at 33° south latitude. The equivalent north latitude is the border between Arkansas and Louisiana. So I imagine it gets very hot and humid here in the summertime.

I’m not sure that would be a highlight for me.